| The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was a British Army unit during World War II. The unit was founded in Egypt, following the Italian declaration of war in June 1940, by Major Ralph A. Bagnold with the assistance of Captains Clayton and Shaw, acting under the direction of General Wavell. The group specialised in mechanised reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and desert navigation. The group was disbanded at the end of the war. The LRDG was nicknamed the 'Mosquito Army' by Wavell. Special Air Service soldiers would refer to it as the 'Libyan Desert Taxi Service'. During the Desert Campaign of 1940 to 1943 The LRDG invariably operated hundreds of miles behind enemy lines; although its chief function was reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, units of the LRDG (called 'Patrols') did carry out some hard-hitting strike operations, the most famous one of which was Operation Hyacinth, an attack on the town of Barce and its associated airfield, which took place on the night of 13 September 1942. | 
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